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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA010 - Staff Report from October 24, 2006 a IW Staff Report DEER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN CITY PARKS October 24, 2006 After passing the new Deer Management Ordinance on third reading, the City Council received a petition signed be over 500 citizens challenging the wisdom of this new program. During"Council Comments" a round table discussion was scheduled for October 24th with the experts and Task Force members to discuss possible changes to the program offered by the staff as well as to confirm the data. Since the Deer Management Ordinance and accompanying rules were made public, the City staff have received a number of suggested changes to improve the acceptability of this program. No Hunting In Emma McCarthy Lee Park The majority of the opposition that has been received by the staff involves hunting in Emma McCarthy Lee Park. Given the relatively small area that is available for hunting due to the separation requirements prescribed in the rules (hunting prohibited less than 85 feet from a road, trail, or activity site and prohibited less than 200 feet from any residence or building), it has been suggested that Emma McCarthy Lee Park be removed as a deer management zone. No Hunting In Moore Memorial Park(East of Squaw Creek) Since the amount of area available for hunting in accordance with the separation rules in Moore Memorial Park is quite small on the east side of Squaw Creek, it has been suggested that hunting only be allowed in the west side of Squaw Creek. Hunting Not Allowed To Begin Until November 1" Since the weather is still conducive to family activities typically through the end of October and the Park and Recreation Department sponsors programs in the park system through this same time period, it has been suggested that hunting not be allowed in the parks until after October 31". The rules currently prohibit hunting in Homewood Golf Course until November I"to coincide with its closing. Reduce The Number Of Hours Allowed For Hunting In The Parks Some of the feedback we received reflected concern about informal activities (walking,jogging, cross country skiing)that will take place in the park during the daylight hours. It is hoped that the time available for possible interaction between a park visitor and a hunter be reduced. Therefore, it has been suggested that the hunting hours in the parks should be shortened to %2 hour before sunrise to 21/2 hours after sunrise and 2 %2 hours before sunset to %2 hour after sunset. First Establish A Test Site That Can Be Analyzed (East River Valley/Homewood Golf Course/Inis Grove Some the residents who have followed this issue have questioned whether adequate data has been collected to determine if: 1) a problem actually exists in the City and 2)which technique for managing the deer population will be the most effective in the City of Ames. Towards this end, some have suggested that before finalizing a deer management program, a group be established that would study this issue in a specific area(East River Valley/Homewood Golf Course/Inis Grove Park) and would gather more meaningful data to determine if a problem does exists and which technique appears to be more effective in dealing with the problem. Close The Parks For A Shorter Period Of Time For Hunting An alternative approach offered by some is to close the parks to any of the public for a shorter period of time (perhaps two to three weeks in January) to concentrate on hunting. This approach will help separate park users from the hunters. Obviously, there are many other possible modifications to the Deer Management Program that could make it more acceptable to our citizens. We have listed above only the short list of suggestions that we have received. As a prelude to our October 24th discussion, Chief Jaeger met with the members of the Deer Management Task Force to review some of the suggested changes. Attached is a summary of the meeting and the Task Force members reaction to these alternatives. While we began exploring this issue with neighborhood members who are in full support of bow hunting on public property as a strategy to control the deer population, we are now interacting with many residents who oppose this strategy. While this issue appears to be one that you will not be able to satisfy the wishes of all interested parties any one, or some, of the modifications mentioned above could serve to make the Deer Management Program acceptable to a greater number of our citizens. Memo Police Department Caring Quality Pro Exceptional Se TO: Steve Schainker, City Manager FROM: Loras A. Jaeger, Chief of Police (� DATE: October 19, 2006 SUBJECT: Special Urban Deer Task Force Meeting During the October 10, 2006 City Council meeting two citizens spoke during public forum requesting the City Council consider repealing the deer hunting ordinance. They listed concerns and suggestions: • Deer hunting in City parks creates a less-safe environment for park users and disturbs free exploration of the urban wilderness areas. • Information from Dr. Allan Vestburg, an Urban Deer Management Expert at the Center for Animal and Public Policy, indicated that if there is a lot of food for deer in nearby fields, no amount of killing will make the problem go away. He suggested signage, public education, and speed limit reduction to reduce the risks to deer and motorists. • Iowa DOT showed that 75% of collisions involving animals occur outside the city limits, on Highway 30 within the city limits, and on Highway 69 north of Ames. • Information from the DNR employee who participated in the aerial deer survey in February indicated that if the goal is to keep the deer population constant, then 25% of the does need to be killed. This means three or four does per year in Emma McCarthy Lee and one to two does in Moore Park. • That the City should change hunting rules to not allow hunting in Emma McCarthy Lee or Moore Parks. • That the City should implement a long-term deer management plan similar to Iowa City— education program on deer habitats, and guidelines for minimizing deer damage, evaluation of where to install temporary deer warning signs, and attention to migratory paths during transportation improvement projects. During Council comments at the end of the meeting you summarized the changes that were being requested by concerned citizens: • Eliminate Emma McCarthy Lee Park and Moore Park from the allowed locations • Change implementation date to November 1, after sponsored park activities • Change the times of day when hunting is allowed As you know, the deer hunting ordinance provides for the authority to bow hunt deer within the City but how that will be done is specified in a series of rules. The reason behind this is to address concerns or problems that may come up during the hunting season from our citizens that need to be changed more rapidly than amending the ordinance. On Wednesday, October 18, 2006, the Urban Deer Task Force met and discussed four specific issues: 1. Eliminate Emma McCarthy Lee Park as a deer management zone 2. Eliminate Moore Park as a deer management zone 3. Limit hunting hours 4. Delay opening of the hunting season to November 1 Eliminate Emma McCarthy Lee Park as a deer management zone During the initial review of the hunting zones after the ordinance and rules were passed, it was found that the hunting area in Emma McCarthy Lee Park was very small. It was decided to delay the issuing of any permits in that area until a complete review of the park hunting area could be done. With the concerns voiced by citizens living in that area and because of the small hunting area, the Urban Deer Task Force is supportive of eliminating that deer management zone from hunting. Eliminate Moore Park as a deer management zone Currently, hunting would be allowed on both the east and west side of Squaw Creek. Walking paths and general gathering areas are are located on the east side. The Urban Deer Task Force is supportive of eliminating hunting on the east side of Squaw Creek, but allowing it on the west side. Limit hunting hours It was suggested that bow hunting in the City be limited to three hours in the early morning and three hours in the late afternoon. Department of Natural Resources rules allow for hunting one half hour before sunrise and one half hour after sunset. The Urban Deer Task Force is supportive of limiting hunting from one half hour before sunrise to two and one half hours after sunrise and then two and one half hours before sunset and one half hour after. Delay opening of the hunting season to November 1 Because we are only days from November 1, the Urban Deer Task Force is supportive of waiting until that date. Another issue that has been listed as a concern is the low number of motor vehicle accidents involving deer. The original petition to the Mayor and City Council never listed motor vehicle accidents as an issue. The petition listed destruction of gardens and shrubs, deer feces in yards, and the concern of Lyme disease. As part of data collection, the police collected for the Urban Deer Task Force animal/vehicle accident information in Ames that was reported to the Iowa DOT. 2 To be more specific, there were many more reports of vehicle/deer accidents in Ames but a large number do not fit the criteria for submission to the Iowa Department of Transportation. To illustrate this below is a breakdown on the number of vehicle/deer accidents or incidents in Ames for the years 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. You will see these are significantly higher than the accident numbers sent to the DOT. This is due to the lower damage amount on the vehicles. 2002 42 2003 40 2004 54 2005 50 The deer hunting ordinance does require the Urban Deer Task Force to report annually to the City Council concerning the status of the urban deer population and to make any recommendations for changes in the rules. We will again do an aerial count of deer in early 2007 and later provide the City Council with those numbers and any other recommendations. 3 MONSERVATION UPDATE Viking Lake Fish Renovation Underway The water level at Viking Lake is being lowered to allow the DNR to renovate the fish population that has been over- taken by small yellow bass.The ur work initially called for the removal of 85 percent of the lake - = water,but the lake will be low- ered completely to address some problems with the outlet gate. "The gates had been leaking for a while so we decided to fix the problem, replace any worn Work has started at Viking Lake to renovate a fish population over- parts and to give the gates a good taken by small yellow bass and fix a leaking outlet gate. cleaning while the other work was underway,"said Chris emptied,any remaining pools will Viking Lake will be restocked Larson,fisheries biologist with receive a chemical treatment to with advanced growth fingerling the DNR. make sure all yellow bass are bluegills, largemouth bass and The fish population will be eliminated. The gates will be channel catfish this fall or next chemically renovated in late closed in early October and the spring. September. After the lake is lake will be allowed to refill. Polk County Deer Task Force Celebrating loth Anniversary In October A successful program that has Due to the hunt's success, mation about how the program significantly reduced deer popula- the number of deer counted on works.Jim Youngblood,who has tions in Polk County is nearing a the annual aerial survey has chaired the task force from the milestone.The Polk County Deer dropped significantly over the beginning,stresses that after 10 Task Force is celebrating its 10th past two years from about 50 years there have been no acci- anniversary in October. per square mile in 2004 to less dents or safety problems and that The mission of the task force than 30 in 2006.Willie Suchy, the program has cost the taxpay- was to develop a deer manage- wildlife biologist with the DNR, ers of Polk County nothing while ment plan for the growing deer estimates the controlled hunt has significantly reducing the deer population in Polk County.After reduced deer numbers by nearly population. a year of planning,discussions 2,000 in the last two years. "Jim and all the members of and research,the first controlled The success of the program the task force should be com- bow hunt was held in 1998,with is directly related to the plan- mended for their hard work," about 100 antlerless deer killed in ning and dedication of task force Suchy said. "Their dedication and a special management zone.The members.The task force has willingness to take on this chal- hunt has expanded to new areas, been proactive in promoting the lenge speak very highly of the and in 2005 nearly 400 antlerless program by providing city of- role that citizen volunteers can deer were killed. ficials with updates and infor- have in resolving these issues." Iowa Conservationist•September/October 2006 SEPTEMBER,,00TOBER 2006 TJ S E R V A 0 z S AL. I T 1 0 W A S P R E M I E R O U T D O O R M A G A Z I '`N E F� ` INSIDE2006 HUNTING FORECAST PHEASANTS WATERFOWL NHITE-TAILED DEER f y s irk n n R: ft a: ax